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G. A. LIMBACH. GARMENT HANGER AND LOCK. APPLICATION mso APR. 7. 1919.

Patented; Aug. 12,1919.

GUSTAVE A. LIMBACH, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

GARMENT HANGER AND LOCK.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Aug. 12, 1919.

Application filed April 7, 1919. Serial No. 288,060.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that GusTAvn A. LIMBACH, a citizen of the United States, residing in New York city, in the county of New York and State of New York, has invented certain new and useful Improvementsin Garment Hangers and Locks; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

This invention relates to a garment hanger Q and. lock.

It is, of course, often necessary, in public .places, to remove an overcoat or other outer garment and support the same on the usual garment hook in such a position that the owner is unable to Watch the same to prevent its removal by an unauthorized person.

Various means have been adopted for preventing the unauthorized removal of such garments from the garment hooks, which means consist either in the provision of special hooks or special locks carried by the garments themselves. Those hangers which have been attached directly to the garment have been objectionable, particularly because of the fact that they require considerable time in adjustment, both upon the placing of the garment upon the hook and its removal therefrom. They are further objectionable, as they are usually of such size that they cause the bulging of the collar of the garment when upon the wearer and furthermore, they are usually located on the inside of the garment collar so as to make their use uncomfortable to the wearer.

It is an object of my invention to provide a device which will occup no more room on the inside of the collar 0 the garment than is occupied by the ordinary garment hanger, and one which may be quickly adjusted to securely lock the garment to the supporting hook, and which may be operated wit facility to permit the removal of the garment by an authorized person.

In the drawing:

Figure 1 is an elevational view of a portion of a garment showing my device attached thereto and in place on a supporting hook of the usual form where the extreme end of the hook is of greater diameter than the shank;

Fig. 2 is a sectional view through the collar of the garment, illustrating the manner in which the hanger is attached thereto;

Fig. 3 is a view of the rear of the garment with the device in place thereon;

F 1g. 4: is a detail of a portion of the device;

Fig. 5 is a detail showing the locking plate in its locking position, in full lines and in dotted lines, in such position that the chain is free to slide for adjustment;

Fig. 6 is a detail of the plate through which the chain extends;

Fig. 7 is a fragmental view of a portion of a garment looking at the outside of the collar and showing a modified form of my device in place thereon;

Fig. 8 is a sectional view of the modified form of the device on the garment collar;

Fig. 9 is an elevation of a second modified form; and

Fig. 10 is a sectional view thereof.

7 The form of the device illustrated in Figs. 1 to 6, inclusive, includes a pair of plates 10 and 11, one of which is secured to the outside of the garment collar A and the other of which is secured in alinement with the first to the inside of the garment collar in any suitable manner. A chain 12 is suitably and positively attached to the plate 10 on the outside of the collar and passes through the garment collar and through an opening 13 in the inner plate 11. A pair of similar plates 14 and 15 are secured to the inside and outside of the garment collar A, respectively, in spaced relation to the first pair of plates 10 and 11. These plates 14 and 15 have alined openings 16 and 17, which aline with an opening through the garment collar A, and through which the opposite end of the chain 12 passes. This chain is slidable through the openings 16 and 17 but is prevented from complete disengagement therewith by a button or the like, 17', which is attached to the end of the chain at the outer side of the outer plate 15. Thus the attachment of the chain to the collar at one point and the passage of the chain through the collar at a spaced point, results in the formation of a loop, which is much similar to the loop which is ordinarily used, but which is adjustable. Thus the garment hook B, with its enlarged head 0 may be passed through the loop formed by the chain, and the collar of the garment, and the chain tightened on the hook by changing its effective length, that is to say, by drawing the free end of the chain through the collar. In order that this free end of the chain may be securely fastened to the collar in its adjusted position, so as to prevent the removal of the coat from the supporting hook, I have made the opening 17 in the outer plate 15 with a radially extending slot 18, which forms in connection with the opening 17, a keyhole opening. Thus when the chain is adjusted, one of the links may be drawn into the slot 18, and the enlarging of the loop will, therefore, be prevented. The link is securely maintained in the slot 18 by a locking plate 19, which is pivoted to the plate 15 by fingers 20, which extend through openings 21 in the plate 15 and are provided with enlargements 22 on their ends. This locking plate 19 has a slot 23 therein, which engages the link of the chain when it is located in the slot 18 and prevents the movement of the chain into the enlarged opening 17. Thus the free'end of the chain, after being adjusted, is securely locked in its adjusted position and the locking means, while it may be operated without the use of any key, is located beneath the overturned portion of the collar on the outside thereof and is, therefore, hidden. As will be seen in Fig. 1, the inside of the garment collar is of such a nature that there is no indication that there is a lock on the outside. Therefore, the theft of the garment from the supporting hook will be prevented. The owner of the garment or authorized person may, of course, swing the lock plate 19 into the dotted line position shown in Fig. 5 and move the chain into the enlarged opening 17 at which time the garment may be readily removed from the hook as the effective length of the chain will increase, the chain sliding through the openings 16 and 17 and the corresponding opening in the garment collar.

In Figs. 7 and 8 I have illustrated the modified form of the device where a unitary plate 24 is attached to the outer portion of the collar A in any suitable manner and is provided with a struck out bill 25 at one end, to which is attached the end link 26 of a chain 27. At the other end of the plate an opening 26 is provided, which is of sufiicient diameter to permit the free end of the chain 27 to pass and slide therethrough, the disengagement of the chain from the opening being prevented by a suitable engagement or button 28, which is located beneath the outer fold of the collar. A tangentially extending slot 29 is formed in the plate 2st and communicates with the opening 26 through a reduced portion 30. A projection 31 extends into the transverse slot 29 so that when the chain is adjusted and is drawn into the slot and beyond the .the enlarged opening 26 and the projection projection, its accidental passage from the slot and passage into the enlarged opening 26, will be prevented. The use of this particular form of slot in conjunction with 31, obviates the necessity for a separate locking plate and, of course, simplifies the device.

In the form of the device illustrated in Figs. 9 and 10, the chain 32 is attached to a hook-shaped projection 33 on one end of the plate 34L, which plate is located on the out side of the collar and which projection extends through the cloth in the manner illus trated in Fig. 10. The free end of the chain is operable through an opening 35, which communicates with a slot 36, into which a projection 37 extends, the opening slot and projection being similar to those described in connection wlth the form shown in Figs. 7 and 8. The adjacent end of this plate is attached to the collar by prongs 38 which enter the cloth and are bent over in the usual manner.

From the foregoing description, it will be seen that I have provided a hanger that occupies no more space on the inside of the collar than is occupied by the usual hanger. Furthermore, the device may be operated with great facility to securely fasten the garment to the garment supporting hook, and the device is attached to the garment in such manner that itwill not be likely to tear the cloth when an unauthorized person attempts to dislodge the garment. This is due to the fact that the point of attachment of each end of the chain or flexible member is on the outside of the coat collar.

It will be appreciated that as a broad proposition, I have provided a garment hanger which comprises a flexible member attached positively at one end to: the garment collar and slidable through the garment collar at a spaced point, at which point it is adapted to be adjustably secured to the garment collar.

While I have illustrated and described the particular forms of my invention, it will be appreciated that very many changes in the details of the construction may be made without departing from the spirit of the invention or without exceeding the scope of the claims.

What I claim is:

1. A garment hanger comprising a fleXible member adapted to be attached to a garment collar, to pass through and to be adjustably secured to the collar at a oint spaced from the point of attachment, w ereby the effective length of the member may be varied.

2 A garment hanger comprising a flexible member adapted to be secured to the outside of a garment collar, to pass through the collar and to again pass through the 4. A garment hanger comprising a plate adapted to be secured to the outside of a garment collar, said plate having a prong 15 adjacent to one end, an openmg, and a restricted slot connnunicating therewith at the other end, and a chain secured to the prong, slidably passing through said opening and adapted to be drawn into said restricted 20 slot, whereby it is prevented from sliding.

In testimony whereof I aifix my signature.

GUSTAVE A. LIMBAGH.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. 0. 

